Independent Leyton Orient Forum

Hello Orient fans.
As the title suggests, I was hoping for some information and fan Opinion on the self confessed 6 jobs man Mr John Sitton.
From the interviews available and his regular Twitter outbursts, he is not shy of heaping praise upon himself. I have heard him compare himself to Steve Bruce and im pretty sure somewhere he claims to have discovered Frank Lampard. I became quite fascinated by this character, ive never seen anyone display such self worth.

With all due respect to Sitton it seems he found his level in the old 4th division, just like 100's of other ex first division prospects.
Johns Managerial statistics make for unpleasant reading, although you wouldnt expect that as he still talks (regularly) about his coaching abilities. It would seem that the English game lost out on this hot prospect, however London gained the worlds greatest black cab driver.

So.... my question is to you, is Mr Sitton an Orient legend, and how is he now considered amongst the Orient family?

Hi John.

How's Vern these days?

No and as a laughing stock.

He's a w*nker .

Think legend might be pushing it a bit far.

Decent enough centre-half at Div 3 / 4 level back in the late 80's and was also captain of the 88-89 promotion winning squad so some kudos there. Have met a few ex-players who were coached by him and most rated him as a fairly decent coach who was good to work with on the training pitch.

Found himself (with Chris Turner) taking a job that no-one with any sense would've gone near. At that time, the club financially was a complete basket case with a mixture of over the hill overpriced pros and inexperienced youth-teamers who in reality weren't anywhere near 1st team level. Car crash both on and off the pitch led to a record low points tally and Sitton's career hitting a brick wall.

Personally, I had a bit of sympathy for him - he was trying to not just hold things together but also put forward a decent future plan for whoever eventually succeeded previous chairman Tony Wood but I think the stress and pressure led to some inexplicable decisions such as taking part in the club for a fiver documentary and sacking 300+ appearance Terry Howard at half-time. Sitton was dealt a bad hand, a hand which he played incredibly badly.

PS - JS is clearly a marmite figure which is understandable. 25 years have almost passed since that documentary and many players / managers have been forgiven and re-employed for sins much bigger than Sitton's. On a purely human level, I've always thought it was a shame that his career ended in the way it did without him being able to re-establish himself at any level in the game. I don't agree with many of the things that he did that season but understand that the immeasurable pressure he was under at that time contributed to it.

admin wrote: ↑Fri Sep 27, 2019 2:44 pm Think legend might be pushing it a bit far.

Decent enough centre-half at Div 3 / 4 level back in the late 80's and was also captain of the 88-89 promotion winning squad so some kudos there. Have met a few ex-players who were coached by him and most rated him as a fairly decent coach who was good to work with on the training pitch.

Found himself (with Chris Turner) taking a job that no-one with any sense would've gone near. At that time, the club financially was a complete basket case with a mixture of over the hill overpriced pros and inexperienced youth-teamers who in reality weren't anywhere near 1st team level. Car crash both on and off the pitch led to a record low points tally and Sitton's career hitting a brick wall.

Personally, I had a bit of sympathy for him - he was trying to not just hold things together but also put forward a decent future plan for whoever eventually succeeded previous chairman Tony Wood but I think the stress and pressure led to some inexplicable decisions such as taking part in the club for a fiver documentary and sacking 300+ appearance Terry Howard at half-time. Sitton was dealt a bad hand, a hand which he played incredibly badly.

Decent piece to read, Time has marched on, bring him in from the cold we've all made a cock up somewhere down the line, anyway i'm off to have some dinner now

Should've brought it with you.

admin wrote: ↑Fri Sep 27, 2019 2:44 pm Think legend might be pushing it a bit far.

Decent enough centre-half at Div 3 / 4 level back in the late 80's and was also captain of the 88-89 promotion winning squad so some kudos there. Have met a few ex-players who were coached by him and most rated him as a fairly decent coach who was good to work with on the training pitch.

Found himself (with Chris Turner) taking a job that no-one with any sense would've gone near. At that time, the club financially was a complete basket case with a mixture of over the hill overpriced pros and inexperienced youth-teamers who in reality weren't anywhere near 1st team level. Car crash both on and off the pitch led to a record low points tally and Sitton's career hitting a brick wall.

Personally, I had a bit of sympathy for him - he was trying to not just hold things together but also put forward a decent future plan for whoever eventually succeeded previous chairman Tony Wood but I think the stress and pressure led to some inexplicable decisions such as taking part in the club for a fiver documentary and sacking 300+ appearance Terry Howard at half-time. Sitton was dealt a bad hand, a hand which he played incredibly badly.

Have to say that was a succinctly and brilliantly put post.

He was certainly the life and soul of the dressing room.

Andy Gilson wrote: ↑Fri Sep 27, 2019 3:13 pm

admin wrote: ↑Fri Sep 27, 2019 2:44 pm Think legend might be pushing it a bit far.

Decent enough centre-half at Div 3 / 4 level back in the late 80's and was also captain of the 88-89 promotion winning squad so some kudos there. Have met a few ex-players who were coached by him and most rated him as a fairly decent coach who was good to work with on the training pitch.

Found himself (with Chris Turner) taking a job that no-one with any sense would've gone near. At that time, the club financially was a complete basket case with a mixture of over the hill overpriced pros and inexperienced youth-teamers who in reality weren't anywhere near 1st team level. Car crash both on and off the pitch led to a record low points tally and Sitton's career hitting a brick wall.

Personally, I had a bit of sympathy for him - he was trying to not just hold things together but also put forward a decent future plan for whoever eventually succeeded previous chairman Tony Wood but I think the stress and pressure led to some inexplicable decisions such as taking part in the club for a fiver documentary and sacking 300+ appearance Terry Howard at half-time. Sitton was dealt a bad hand, a hand which he played incredibly badly.

Have to say that was a succinctly and brilliantly put post.

Thanks. I'm about to launch a radio career - apparently some local radio show is looking for a new host to talk about Orient.

Come on Herr Gilso give the young man an opportunity to rule the air waves with his dolcet tones.

Thank you for the information. He certainly is a character. Obviously very bitter about how it all ended for him.

Footballfan wrote: ↑Fri Sep 27, 2019 4:38 pm Thank you for the information. He certainly is a character. Obviously very bitter about how it all ended for him.

If you don't mind me saying John but I think John is a legend.

Leyton Nationalist would contest the best
LONDON cabbie award

With John Warboys third.

Strange how the yes man, Turner, forged a living out of the game whilst Sitton punctured himself by being too honest and too outspoken. He's a legend all right - just because we still speak about his antics today.

HARVEY T DENTON wrote: ↑Fri Sep 27, 2019 4:52 pm With John Warboys third.

Oh FFS!

Outstanding season 89/90. Otherwise forgettable, crap book as well.

Omygawd wrote: ↑Fri Sep 27, 2019 6:31 pm Outstanding season 89/90. Otherwise forgettable, crap book as well.

Apparently volume 2 on the way.

admin wrote: ↑Fri Sep 27, 2019 3:39 pm

Andy Gilson wrote: ↑Fri Sep 27, 2019 3:13 pm

admin wrote: ↑Fri Sep 27, 2019 2:44 pm Think legend might be pushing it a bit far.

Decent enough centre-half at Div 3 / 4 level back in the late 80's and was also captain of the 88-89 promotion winning squad so some kudos there. Have met a few ex-players who were coached by him and most rated him as a fairly decent coach who was good to work with on the training pitch.

Found himself (with Chris Turner) taking a job that no-one with any sense would've gone near. At that time, the club financially was a complete basket case with a mixture of over the hill overpriced pros and inexperienced youth-teamers who in reality weren't anywhere near 1st team level. Car crash both on and off the pitch led to a record low points tally and Sitton's career hitting a brick wall.

Personally, I had a bit of sympathy for him - he was trying to not just hold things together but also put forward a decent future plan for whoever eventually succeeded previous chairman Tony Wood but I think the stress and pressure led to some inexplicable decisions such as taking part in the club for a fiver documentary and sacking 300+ appearance Terry Howard at half-time. Sitton was dealt a bad hand, a hand which he played incredibly badly.

Have to say that was a succinctly and brilliantly put post.

Thanks. I'm about to launch a radio career - apparently some local radio show is looking for a new host to talk about Orient.

You'd be more than welcome to appear on the show PM if you do want to.

Andy Gilson wrote: ↑Fri Sep 27, 2019 3:13 pm

admin wrote: ↑Fri Sep 27, 2019 2:44 pm Think legend might be pushing it a bit far.

Decent enough centre-half at Div 3 / 4 level back in the late 80's and was also captain of the 88-89 promotion winning squad so some kudos there. Have met a few ex-players who were coached by him and most rated him as a fairly decent coach who was good to work with on the training pitch.

Found himself (with Chris Turner) taking a job that no-one with any sense would've gone near. At that time, the club financially was a complete basket case with a mixture of over the hill overpriced pros and inexperienced youth-teamers who in reality weren't anywhere near 1st team level. Car crash both on and off the pitch led to a record low points tally and Sitton's career hitting a brick wall.

Personally, I had a bit of sympathy for him - he was trying to not just hold things together but also put forward a decent future plan for whoever eventually succeeded previous chairman Tony Wood but I think the stress and pressure led to some inexplicable decisions such as taking part in the club for a fiver documentary and sacking 300+ appearance Terry Howard at half-time. Sitton was dealt a bad hand, a hand which he played incredibly badly.

Have to say that was a succinctly and brilliantly put post.

Spot on

admin wrote: ↑Fri Sep 27, 2019 2:44 pm Sitton was dealt a bad hand, a hand which he played incredibly badly.

I agree. It would be nice if the club could invite him back to a game.

Andy Gilson wrote: ↑Fri Sep 27, 2019 8:04 pm

admin wrote: ↑Fri Sep 27, 2019 3:39 pm

Andy Gilson wrote: ↑Fri Sep 27, 2019 3:13 pm

Have to say that was a succinctly and brilliantly put post.

Thanks. I'm about to launch a radio career - apparently some local radio show is looking for a new host to talk about Orient.

You'd be more than welcome to appear on the show PM if you do want to.

You never know, I might just take you up on that.

"Joining us today are Jamie Stripe, Kent Teague and Admin"

Get Byways on.